Reverse Focus Weekly Podcast Episode #341
In this week’s Reverse Focus podcast, Shannon Hicks notes that while recent reports have indicated that reverse mortgages can help offset rising challenges retirees face today, new data suggests the latest wave of program changes stand to impact retirement security.
Also discussed, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $45 billion budget for 2015, while it will allow the agency to continue its activities, will likely limit the goal of homeownership for some families. The budget did, however, allocate $47 million for housing counseling initiatives, including those related to reverse mortgages.
Signaling good news for the U.S. housing market, the number of homeowners underwater on their mortgages has fallen by more than 40% in the past two years, according to Zillow’s Negative Equity Report. There are, however, still 8.7 million American homeowners still underwater on their mortgages.
In the last podcast story, the issuance of reverse mortgage securities may hit a record low to finish 2014, according to recent commentary from New View Advisors on publicly available data from Ginnie Mae. With November’s numbers, the total HMBS tally is $5.4 billion year-to-date.
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Talking Points:
- Reverse mortgage changes impacting retirement security
- HUD’s 2015 budget may limit homeownership
- Number of underwater homeowners falls more than 40%
- Reverse mortgage securities likely to hit record low
Listen now. “Reverse Focus is the ultimate resource for reverse mortgage professionals providing the technology, training and marketing to grow your business. We are your one-stop resource for those committed to taking their business to the next level.” Editor’s Note: These posts are sponsored by Reverse Focus.
Written by Jason Oliva
